Sustainable Development Goal 11

Making cities and settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Worldwide, one in two people now lives in a city, and the number is growing: by 2030, it could be three-quarters of the world’s population. Cities are therefore centers of the economy, of innovation, but also of emissions:
Cities produce about 80 percent of the global gross domestic product and at the same time cause up to 75 percent of human CO2 emissions.
The high population density of a city offers potential for sustainable mobility concepts and ecological living. However, the resources for such sustainable concepts are unevenly distributed within cities: In metropolises of the global South, one in three people lived in slums in 2014. In contrast, in the immediate vicinity are closed housing estates, where people live in luxury. In cities, sometimes there are only a few hundred meters between people who have to live in their homes without water or electricity and people who can floodlight their tennis court in front of their house while the water sprinkler waters the front yard.
But it is not only an imbalance in the distribution of resources that is evident in cities. Due to the high population density and the resulting high emissions from many unsustainable means of transport, 9 out of 10 city dwellers worldwide breathe air with particulate matter levels above the guideline values of the World Health Organization. Only half of all city residents have easy access to public transportation. In Germany, the problems faced by cities are primarily reflected in the housing shortage, rapidly rising rents and the resulting displacement of lower-income people from the inner cities.

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What are the sub-goals?

By 2030, ensure access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services for all and rehabilitate slums.

Strengthen efforts to protect and preserve the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
By 2030, make urbanization more inclusive and sustainable and strengthen capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable settlement planning and management in all countries.

By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transportation systems for all and improve road safety, particularly by expanding public transportation, with special attention to the needs of people in vulnerable situations, noncis men, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly.

By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and people affected by disasters, including water-related disasters, and substantially reduce the direct economic losses they cause relative to global gross domestic product, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.
By 2030, reduce the per capita environmental impact of cities, including special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste treatment.

By 2030, ensure universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green spaces and public spaces, especially for non-cis males and children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

How is the goal to be achieved?

Goal 11 is to be achieved through enhanced national and regional development planning. This is about supporting positive economic, social and environmental linkages between urban, peri-urban and rural areas. Among other things, by 2020, the number of cities and settlements that adopt and implement plans to promote inclusion, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation, climate adaptation, and disaster resilience will be substantially increased. Cities should develop and implement holistic disaster risk management at all levels. Least developed countries are to receive support for the construction of sustainable and resilient buildings through financial and technical assistance. Attention should be paid to the use of regional materials.

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More info on SDG 11 | Lecture Series of the Virtual Academy Sustainability